Familiar Surroundings
by The Confused One
Summary: A seemingly ordinary case, takes some twists and turns when Goren family secrets are revealed.
1. A familiar Crime Scene

Familiar Surroundings  
  
A/N: This is my first foray into Law and Order: CI fic. So don't go easy. I want to know if something is wrong with this. Thanks  
  
Disclaimer: I sadly don't own anything to do with any of the Law and Orders. I only wish I did! LOL Wolf, NBC, and others own all the Law and Orders.  
  
Detective Alex Eames walked around the corner and preceded down an alley. As she got closer she could see her partner hunched over the body. She smiled. She just knew he would have some completely gross detail about the body to give her. She got closer and called to him, "Goren. Find anything?"  
  
Alex got right up to him and the body. He had straddled her. Her neck had been slashed. And it looked like she was raped and beaten before. "What a shame. She was a pretty one," thought Eames. She stood waiting for an answer from her partner, but he seemed lost in thought. Alex was getting annoyed. She tried again, "Bobby! Earth to Bobby."  
  
This time she got a response. Bobby noticed the hand in front of his face. He looked over with a worried look on his face. He faked a smile, and answered, "Sorry. You saying something?"  
  
The look wasn't lost on Alex. It worried her. She frowned, and replied, "You OK?"  
  
Bobby nodded. He replied, "Yeah-yeah, I'm fine."  
  
Alex gave a large sigh. She figured he'd tell her later. She decided to change the subject. She asked, "Find anything interesting?"  
  
Bobby noticed the MES approaching. He stood up, and he stepped over her to let them get to work. He answered, "It looks like she was beaten, raped, and then had her throat slit. There's no wallet, ids, credit cards, or money. Who found her?"  
  
Alex was expecting more, but decided that it would come later. She replied, "An employee of the restaurant there. They were taking the trash out. He swears he doesn't remember ever having seen her before. Is it me or does this feel staged? I'm not even sure what we're doing out here."  
  
Alex was now following Bobby back up the alley. Bobby offhandedly answered her questions, "Because this is the seventh in just a little over two weeks. I'm sure the body was moved here. This was definitely staged. They're trying to throw us off."  
  
Alex nodded, accepting this theory as a possibility. She asked, "How do you want to do this then?"  
  
Bobby began to walk faster than Alex. He replied over his shoulder, "I'll get back to you on that. There's something I need to check on, first. Can we just go on back to the office."  
  
Alex watched him get into the SVU. She was a little dumbfounded by his attitude. She walked around the car and got into the driver's seat. She knew she was in for an uncomfortable and quiet ride back. She rolled her eyes as she started the car and drove away, wondering what in the world was going on in that brain of his. 


	2. Strange Behavior

Familiar Surroundings pt. 2  
  
Rating: G It's a tame chapter  
  
Summary: A normal case takes an interesting turn when Goren family secrets are revealed.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the locations. No money is being made..yada yada yada.  
  
A/N: Thanks for the kind words. I hope this chapter is as good. Please keep reviewing. It's good motivations. He he he  
  
Alex watched as Bobby looked up a number on his rolodex, and he dialed it on his phone. She was getting coffee for them, and decided to watch from the other end of the squad room to give him time to find out whatever it was that he seemed to need to find out. Watching him from afar she could tell he was in pain. Whoever it was wasn't telling him anything he wanted to hear. She was assuming he was talking to his mother, but she had no idea why he would be doing that. Just then she watched Bobby slam the phone down, pick up his coat and leave. Alex immediately called after him, "Goren! Goren? Where are you going?"  
  
It was too late. He was already on the elevator on his way to God knows where, and she would never be able to catch up to him. She walked back to her desk, and slammed the coffee cups down. She took a peak at the rolodex hoping to find out where he called. But it had been pushed back to the front and closed. She sat down and worried. Her mind raced in millions of directions on where he could be going and why. She noticed that he had left his notebook on his desk. "Whatever it is, it's bad. He never forgets this thing," she thought. With a sigh Alex got back to work. She'd ask Bobby what was going on next time she saw him. It was probably something about his mother. She hypothesized that all of his odd behavior was about his mother. It made her feel better, and it allowed her to get back to work.  
  
Alex sat at her desk going over the photos again. She looked up at the clock again. He was now thirty minutes late. She was getting worried. Bobby was never late. They have been partners now for two and a half years, and she had never seen him late yet. She tapped her pen on her desk. She picked up her phone and dialed his apartment again. She got his voicemail. She tried his cell phone, and she again got his voicemail. She put down the phone and looked up at the elevator again. She looked back down at the crime scene photos that were spread out all over her desk. She still had no idea why this guy was targeting hookers with drug problems. She gave a sigh, and picked up a stack of papers sitting next to her. There had to be a connection of some sort. She just had to find it. That's when the elevator opened. Relief and anger both came over her, as Bobby Goren stepped out of the elevator.  
  
Alex got up out of her seat and walked over to him. She angrily asked, "Where have you been? Why didn't you answer your phone?"  
  
Alex followed Bobby over to the desks. She could tell now how exhausted he was. He didn't look like he had slept at all the night before. He began to answer apologetically, "I'm-I'm sorry Eames. I had to check on something."  
  
Alex gave a sigh. She couldn't stay mad at him. She had calmed down already, and replied, "It's OK. Just don't do it again. I was getting really worried about you. You look like hell by the way."  
  
Bobby saw the small smile on her face when said the last comment. He smiled in return, and replied, "Thanks Eames. I was out all night looking for someone."  
  
Alex arched her eyebrows. She looked up at him and asked, "Did you find them?"  
  
Bobby gave a rather loud sigh before answering. He wasn't sure he wanted to explain all of this yet. He had no proof it was who he thought it was. He shook his head and replied, "No, I didn't find him. And I'm out of places to look."  
  
Alex nodded in understanding. She asked, "Are you sure you don't want to go home and get some sleep or something? I can handle Deakins."  
  
Bobby smiled. He was grateful for the offer, but he had to decline, "Thanks, but I'll be OK."  
  
Alex nodded. She understood. She hesitated for a moment. She had a feeling now that whoever it was that Bobby had been looking for had to do with the case. She asked, "Who was it you were looking for?"  
  
Bobby looked up from his paperwork, and stared right at Alex. He wasn't sure how to answer the question. He weakly replied, "A suspect."  
  
Alex was getting annoyed with this game already. She snapped, "Right. But who?"  
  
Bobby was surprised by her tone. He suddenly realized she had put some of it together. They looked into each other's eyes. He knew he couldn't lie to her. She needed to know what was going on. He replied, "My brother." 


	3. Secrets and Pain

Familiar Surroundings Pt. 3  
  
A/N: This is it folks, the last part to this little fic of mine. So enjoy it! And please remember to review. Thanks.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the L&Os. I don't claim to. I'm not making money. Please don't sue. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.  
  
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Eames sat in shock. She could see the pain in his eyes. And her mind began racing a million miles a minute. She was thinking, "His brother? How could his brother have anything to do with this? It didn't make any sense!" Out loud she whispered, "Your brother?"  
  
Bobby knew he was going to have to explain everything. So he began, "When our father left, Christ, Christ didn't take it well. He, He acted out. Left home before he turned eighteen. It took years, but he finally showed back up. He was different. He was understanding. But the more I watched him the more I realized.."  
  
Alex took a deep breath. She knew what was coming. She interrupted, "Oh Bobby. I'm so sorry."  
  
At this point Bobby looked down at his desk. Continuing to gesture wildly he finished his story, "He, he's schizophrenic, and I, I ignored it. I ignored the signs. I was twenty-three starting out, and didn't want to deal with it. Our, our mother was hard enough. I was already scared to death for myself. The, the voices in his head had turned him into a zealot. All the hookers on the street had to be punished. He killed four or five women before I did anything. It wasn't even my case. He showed up at my apartment one day telling me everything. He'd, he'd invite these women to his motel room. Then he'd kill them, and he'd dump the bodies. It's exactly like he's doing now. I-I did what I had to. I took him in. He's been in a state facility ever since. But he escaped two weeks ago. I've been looking for him off and on ever since. I knew he hated it there, but I couldn't do anything about it. He killed people. He was stuck in that fascility. I tried to explain it to him, but he, he didn't want to hear any of it. It makes sense he wouldn't contact me. He doesn't think I care. He knows I'm the one who made him go to that place, the place he hates. I've checked all the old places he used to hang out, numerous times. I don't know where else to look."  
  
For a moment Alex sat there in shock. She wasn't sure what to make of the story. She could tell that for some reason he was so a shamed he couldn't even face her. She eased his discomfort by saying, "Bobby, you didn't do anything wrong. You're not responsible for your brother's actions. We'll find him. Carver will make sure he just gets to go back to a hospital. I'm sure we can even get him transferred to one he likes. Stop treating yourself like a criminal. You did what you had to do. You didn't kill those people Goren. The man who did, he needs help. He needs his brother to stop kicking himself for things that happened a good twenty years ago. I just wish you had told me sooner."  
  
Bobby now looked at her. She was right, and he knew it. He had to get off it. He couldn't continue to blame himself for his brother. He also knew that she was right; he should have told her sooner. They needed to just find him now, and Bobby could easily get the truth from him. Carver would be easy to convince to get his brother into a different fascility. Bobby gave his partner a small smile. Taking a deep breath, and trying to let the past go, he replied, "I'm not sure where to continue the search."  
  
Alex was stumped. She had no idea where Bobby's brother might be. They sat there for long few minutes thinking. That's when she got an idea. She asked, "Have you checked that same motel? What if he went back there?"  
  
Bobby hadn't wanted to check there. It was the one place he had skipped. He replied, "No, I wasn't sure I wanted to go there. But it's as good a place as any."  
  
Alex smiled triumphantly. She loved it when she had the good idea. She quickly threw on her coat and scooped up the photos. She replied, "It's Ok. We'll both go. Come on."  
  
Bobby threw on his coat too, and beat Alex to the door. As usual he opened the door for her. Afterwards Alex handed Bobby the photos back. He opened his black notebook up and put them up as he walked.  
  
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They arrived at the super six motel. Bobby took a deep breath. It had been a long while since he had been there. He opened the door to the office for Alex. She walked in. They walked up to the front counter. She knew he was uncomfortable so she started the conversation, "Hi, I'm Detective Alexandra Eames, and this is Detective Goren. We need to look at your registration records if we could. We have reason to believe a suspect has been staying here."  
  
Bobby was glad to have Alex there. It made things easier. The receptionist pulled out the registry and replied, "Whatever it is, I didn't do it."  
  
Bobby and Alex looked at each other. They had to keep from laughing. And they ran down the list of names. Alex sighed. She didn't see Christ's name. She looked at Goren, "Well, I don't see his name. Any of them look like a possible alias to you?"  
  
Bobby didn't answer for a moment. Alex just kept looking at the list waiting. She knew he would when he was ready. He finally put his finger to a name and said, "That might be him. He looked up at the receptionist and replied, "We need to get into B17, please."  
  
The young man nodded before turning around and grabbing a key. Alex curiously took a peak to see what the name was. She had to keep from laughing when she read the name Father Richards. It was fitting with what Bobby had been saying. The receptionist walked around the counter and the two detectives began following him to the room. The young man began talking, "He's been here for a couple of weeks. What he do anyway?"  
  
Alex wanted to get this guy to shut up as soon as possible. So she decided a quick direct response would be nice. She could feel the uneasiness from Bobby too. So she rolled her eyes and straightforwardly said, "We think murder."  
  
After the comment from Alex, he wasn't sure what to say. The rest of the trip to the room was in silence. Handing Alex the key he took off whispering, "Good luck."  
  
Bobby was thankful that the guy had taken the hint and gone back downstairs. He didn't want to do this in front of strangers. He knocked on the door and called out, "Christ, are you in there? It's Bobby. Open up."  
  
Alex took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what kind of reaction they would get. But they got nothing. Alex unlocked the door, and Bobby opened it. He walked in first gun drawn. He stopped as soon as he walked around the corner and saw his brother sitting at the desk in the room. Alex walked up behind him, and she stayed quiet taking in the scene. Bobby stared at his brother. He sat down on the bed beside the desk. He quietly greeted, "Hey, Christ."  
  
Alex stood in the back of the room letting them talk. She knew it would be best to let them talk. Christ stared at Bobby for a long moment before ranting, "You can't take me back there!"  
  
Bobby watched his brother jump up from his seat and began backing up from Bobby. Bobby stood up too. He calmly said, "You know it's where you're supposed to be. I can make it better for you now."  
  
Alex watched, as Christ seemed to be thinking about what Bobby had said. She found it fascinating to see how tall he was too. Not that it should have surprised her. Bobby's height was definitely an identifiable feature. It made sense his brother would be close to the same height. She then watched Christ stonewall again. He yelled, "No! That place is awful. I won't go back Bobby! I'm trying. I'm trying to stay away from them. Please, don't make me go back to that place."  
  
Bobby watched Bobby's resolve fade in an instant. He nodded. And backed away from his brother. He replied, "I know you're trying, Christ. But you can't. You need your medicine and to be somewhere safe. We've been over this. Why did you leave?"  
  
Alex's heart broke for Bobby. She knew in that moment more than any other time why he was so good with the mentally ill. Everyone he cared about was. Christ sat back down at the desk. He responded, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to see the world again."  
  
Bobby sighed. He put his hand on his brother's shoulder and answered, "It's OK, but its time to go back now. You've hurt people Christ. You can't stay out here. Come on Christ. It's time to go back."  
  
Alex watched as Christ stood up. Bobby kept his arm around Christ's shoulder. Alex followed them both out. She hoped the worst, for Bobby's sake, was over. 


	4. A Visit to Help Start the Healing

Familiar Surroundings: Pt. 4 By: The Confused One  
  
Disclaimer: As always I don't own anything. I just wish I did.  
  
A/N: I was going through rewriting and correcting and some expansions of stories. And do to comments by A Tattered Rose, and rereading the story myself, I thought this story needed an epilogue, to wrap things up. So this is my attempt to truly wrap it all up, and satisfy the reader with a real ending this time. Just remember to please review. Thanks.  
  
If Alex knew her partner, and she was sure she did, she knew he'd be sequestering himself in his house now, letting the pain settle for the night. He had taken off almost immediately after they had taken his brother in. Alex had only been able to surmise that he hadn't just vanished by the fact that, obviously, his stuff was gone. The moment she had walked into the room, Christ was telling her everything. Carver worked up some papers so that he could go back to a facility, and Deakins and Alex had spent a majority of their time worrying about Bobby. He hadn't been answering his cell or house phone, and Alex had just finished up all the paperwork that had to be done that day, like Christ's facility papers. Course, she knew, they'd have to have Bobby sign them, but at least he wouldn't have to make all sorts of decisions about it. Alex had done all of it that she was allowed to do. So here she was standing outside her partner's apartment, hoping her knocking would get his attention. She was relieved when, after a moment, Bobby answered the door.  
  
Taking in her partner, Alex didn't think she had ever seen him look so bad. He had already changed into sweats, and she could tell that his shirt at least was on backwards. She whispered, "Hey."  
  
Alex had been the last person Bobby Goren had wanted to see that night. As far as he was concerned, she had seen enough, but he also knew that he wasn't going to just get her to leave. She was stubborn that way. He just decided on a combination of arrogance, smugness, and ignoring her, maybe she'd get the message. He icily replied, "Hi."  
  
Alex watched as Bobby turned around and stumbled back to a chair. A glass of scotch sat on the table beside him. Stepping inside, Alex closed the door behind her. Before he could pick up the glass though, Alex had it and began taking it to the kitchen. As Alex was expecting, Bobby was immediately on his feet protesting. He yelled at her, "I was drinking that. Eames, come on. Where are you.? What the fuck do you think you're doing?"  
  
Alex dumped the scotch down the drain, ignoring her partner's questions and protests. It was obvious that more alcohol was the last thing he needed. Bobby finally made his way into the kitchen. He was no longer yelling. His voice was low and threatening now. He demanded, "What do you think you're doing?"  
  
Putting the glass in his dishwasher for him, Alex didn't even bother to face him. Keeping her own voice low, she informs him, "You've had enough to drink tonight Goren. You can barely walk."  
  
Closing the dishwasher, Alex finally faced him. There was fire in his eyes now. His anger spewed over, "Like hell. I'm drunk enough when I say I'm drunk enough."  
  
Alex had to keep from rolling her eyes. Shaking her head, she reminded him, "It'll still be there in the morning Bobby. It's not going to make things better, and you know it. So, I'm not going to let you drink yourself into a stupor."  
  
Bobby stared at Alex for a moment. He knew she was right, but he didn't want to give it to her. He was feeling belligerent enough to make her work for it. Turning around he found the chair again. He watched as Alex appeared and stayed at the doorway of the kitchen. Looking at the white wall in front of him, Bobby replied, "I don't care."  
  
Alex finally gave herself permission to roll her eyes, and that's exactly what she did. She figured that the only way to get through to him tonight would be to keep challenging him. Keeping her voice flat, she reminded him, "Yeah you do. You do care. You can't tell me you don't. I saw it."  
  
Bobby still refused to look at her. He figured that maybe she'd finally get the message then and leave. In spite of himself, he found he was telling her more, "No one asked you to come."  
  
Alex shook her head. She replied, "No. You wanted me there. You said so yourself."  
  
Shaking his head again, Bobby finally looked at her. Finding her eyes, he replied, "Well, I'm an idiot. Don't you know that by now?"  
  
Alex held his gaze. She was determined to make him understand that none of this was his fault, that he and his family were dealt terrible cards, anything but that this was somehow his fault and something he should be ashamed of. She answers almost immediately, saying the first things that she can think of, "No. You're just human. There is a difference, a big difference. You can't be responsible for your family. They're your family, not you. All you can do is what you've ever done, take care of them and love them."  
  
Bobby finally pulls his eyes away from Alex, and starts staring at the wall again. His voice is low, defeated, and haunted, "Sometimes. Sometimes I wish it would happen to me. That way I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. I wouldn't have to think about the possibilities of it happening anymore, and I wouldn't have to watch them suffer every day. It would be a little bit of a release. Alex. This disease, it haunts me. I live with it, worry about it, watch it destroy the people I love every day, and I'm not sure how much more I can take."  
  
Walking towards him now, Alex squats down, to find his eyes. With her hands on his knees, she admits, "I know. Believe me I do. I watch you everyday. I wish. You can't do it alone. I wish you'd let me help. I wish you'd talk to me. You didn't even tell me about him. You're my best friend, and I'm, I'm scared to death for you here. Why are you really in here trying to, what? What are you trying to do to yourself here?"  
  
Bobby looked away again, remembering now that he had wanted to make her go away. If he were in a better mood he might have found it amusing. He could never figure out how she was always managing to get him to talk. She was so good at it too, like an art form that she mastered, just to work on him. Not that it mattered anymore. He had already told her the important stuff. With a sigh, he replied, "I hate it when you do this, you know that right?"  
  
She could smell the scotch as he spoke. It dawned on her then why he rarely, if ever, drank in public, the smell, too much like his father. He didn't want anyone to have to smell it. She was brought out of her thoughts when he looked at her again. She gave him a half smile and replied, "Yeah, I know, but you don't exactly usually give me much of choice but to drag it out of you."  
  
Bobby shook his head. He accepted her response, knowing she had a point, a good point. He finally got around to answering the question, "You want to know what I'm doing, I'm wishing that you had never needed to meet my brother, like that. Wishing the disease called schizophrenia away. Wishing my shitty life away. You didn't know either of them before, before the disease. My. My mother used to read three or four books a day, on a busy day. She had a wit, a lot like yours. She could talk about almost anything. She was involved in all sorts of charities around the city. Used to, used to give speeches. God, even as a little, little boy, I, I knew. She, she was special. You, you would have loved her. Your type of person. When she, when she started to change it, it was small at first. She would think she heard someone say something. She would, would say something and it wouldn't make sense because, because no one had said anything anyway. She, she slowly. She closed in on herself. She stopped speaking because, because they told her to. She, she stopped her volunteering. Her jokes and wit just, just seemed to vanish. She, she stopped caring about, about us. It, it destroyed her. The, the woman I talk to and, and visit, it's not my mother. It's a shadow. By the time, the time I put her in, in Carmel Ridge, her life was consisting solely of the library and her apartment.  
  
"Christ, Christ was much the same. While we were growing up, he was the same. He was always the good one, dad's favorite. We were awful to, to each other most, most of the time. All sorts of practical jokes. He had my mother's wit. But, but after she. He changed. He sided with my father. Spent as much time out of the house as possible. He hated her. He blamed her for everything, like, as if, as if she could have just turned the voices off. He became a different person. Left home at sixteen. By, by the time he came back, he was, was back to being my brother, but, but the disease would take what I had left of him too. You. You really want to know what I'm doing here? I'm, I'm mourning. The loss, of my family. I'm mourning the loss of the people you never got to meet, but would have loved."  
  
By now Alex was sitting in the chair beside him. She spoke softly, trying to keep him calm and subdued, "I wish I had known them."  
  
Bobby snorted and shook her head. Catching her gaze, on purpose this time, he added, "More than anything though. I'm mourning the women. The women my, my brother killed this time, and I'm angry. I'm angry with myself. I can't even face him now. I can't even look at my brother. There is too much of myself there. Even worse, I can't face Deakins. I, I can't look at him even. We've been friends for a long time, and, and he knows about my family, but this is different. They were responsible for this. Someone in my family killed people. There's a real confidence booster."  
  
Shaking her head, Alex couldn't believe that he thought anyone thought any of this was his fault. As far as she was concerned her partner had been dealt a shit hand in life, and anyone who didn't see that wasn't worth anyone's time of day anyway. She whispered, "Goren, none of this is your fault. You aren't responsible for what people around you do. You're not responsible for anything that anyone in your family does. Deakins was worried sick about you, with good reason. No one is blaming you. For the second time in your life, you've had to bring your brother in for murder. No one deserves to have to be put in that position, especially not you. You've had enough cruel irony in your life. Look. I filled out the forms for you. He's going to go to a different facility. Hopefully he'll like it better there. There isn't anything left to do tonight. I'm here to make sure you don't self-destruct on me. Let me make you some coffee and aspirin. You're going to have one hell of a hang over."  
  
Bobby absent-mindedly nodded. He had given up fighting her a few minutes back. All he wanted to do now was crawl into a hole and die. Alex stood up from her seat, eyeing him suspiciously. She watched him by way of the bar area that was set up to help open up the rooms and join the kitchen and den together some. She quietly made coffee and watched him sit there. She waited just long enough to be able to pour two cups before taking the thermos away from the actual coffee machine. She brought the two cups out, one with some aspirin sitting on the plate that the cup was sitting on too. Alex laid that one in front of Bobby. She took a sip of her coffee. He took a sip of his and downed the two aspirin. Alex started again, "You know, in the future, talking to me is really a lot less painful than drinking the amount of alcohol that I think you've consumed tonight."  
  
Bobby gives her a small smile. In an odd way he was feeling a little better. He finally replied, "I'm sorry. Earlier, I was just. I just."  
  
With a smile of her own, Alex broke in trying to help him out, "Being an ass? It was about what I expected. Don't worry about it. You're allowed a little slack after the day you've had. I'm here no matter what. There's no getting rid of me."  
  
Bobby took another sip of his coffee. It was odd. Her assurance that she was sticking around actually made him feel better now. He had been lying to himself before. He did want someone. He needed someone. Then again, he always did, and he knew it. Finishing his coffee, Bobby replied, "Thank you."  
  
Alex gave him another smile. She wasn't entirely sure why he was thanking her, but she'd take any progress she could get. The mission of the night had been getting him talking and from self-destructing. She seemed to have accomplished both. She was satisfied, therefore replied with a little confusion in her voice, "For what?"  
  
Bobby swallowed his pride. He finally responded, "For today. For being here. For every time you have to come pick up my pieces. It's not exactly in the force or partnership description."  
  
Alex smiled. She replied, "Yeah, well, you're worth the trouble. Come on hot shot. I'm putting you to bed. I'm fairly sure that you'd never make it to your room alone right now."  
  
Bobby gave her an embarrassed smile as Alex helped him stand and walk down the hallway to his room. Once they were in his room, Alex helped him sit down on the bed, then asked, "Where's you pajamas?"  
  
Bobby pointed at one of the drawers in his room. Opening the drawers, Alex had to smile. Everything was organized by tops and bottoms and then by color. Picking out a top and bottom that seemed to match Alex handed them to Bobby. She had a wryly grin on her face before asking, "You going to make sure it's not all on backwards this time?"  
  
It was then that Bobby began inspecting the clothing he was wearing and made the realization that he indeed had is top on backwards. With another embarrassed smile, he replied, "Yeah. I will."  
  
Alex shook her head. With another smile, she headed towards the door, calling back, "I'll give you a moment to change."  
  
Alex went ahead and cleaned out the coffee cups and put them in the dishwasher. She dumped the little bit of coffee that was left, she hadn't made much in the first place. She decided at this point go ahead and check on Bobby. Making it to his room, she smiled. He was curled up under the covers asleep. Alex took the clothes that he uncharacteristically left on the ground and put them in his darks laundry basket. After turning the last light off by the door, Alex smiled again. She whispered, "Good night Bobby." After closing the door, Alex found a couple of blankets in the linen closet and settled down on his couch. She was not about to leave him. 


End file.
